A woman in Cork has spoken of her terror after a taxi she was travelling in was attacked by male youths armed with iron bars over the weekend.
Karen, who did not give her full name, told 96FM on Tuesday said she got into a taxi in Cork city centre with her partner at 3.30am on Sunday.
When the taxi approached the Wilton roundabout she said the taxi was attacked by a gang of up to six teenaged males with their heads covered by hoods. She said the attackers appeared to be aged between 14 and 17 years old.
She said the taxi did not stop and when the driver went around the roundabout a second time and it was attacked again with the driver’s window and back window being damaged.
Karen said she did not know why the driver drove around the roundabout a second time as he did not appear to have a dashcam to try and identify those involved.
When the driver then parked the car, a second taxi also stopped and this driver reported the door to her taxi had been damaged by the teens that had “run down Glasheen Road.”
Both taxi drivers then waited for gardaí while Karen and her partner decided to walk home.
“It was a very frightening experience. Wilton generally is a very quiet place. It was very scary.
“I would advise people to be wary of gangs. If I had been driving on my own, I would have crashed.”
The woman said she thought the taxi driver should have brought them home as it was only five minutes away and then he could have gone back to await the gardaí.
The taxi driver also charged them for the journey.
“I shouldn’t have paid him, but I just wanted to go home. He didn’t ask for our details. I don’t remember his details.
“I was bawling crying. I was petrified.”
She called on parents to make sure they know what their children are doing at night. “I saw the face of one of them. He was no more than 14.
“People should be aware if what is going on in the area.”
A Garda spokesman said they were investigating an alleged criminal damage incident on a passing car at the Wilton roundabout on August 25th by a group of youths.